Why Prostitution Shouldn't Be Legal?

Prostitution is a world wide controversial matter that has been around for many years. Prostitution itself is an old profession, but what about it leads to controversial arguments and opposing view points from our society? The idea that prostitution poses of selling one's body in exchange for money has had a negative impact in our society since it was first introduced into our presence. The many risk factors that follow prostitution, for example HIV, are one of many problems associated with going against legalizing prostitution. However, many people feel that diseases will be less frequent with legalizing prostitution. I would like to further explore this topic throughout the course of the semester, and gain an enhanced insight involved on each opposing side's point of view towards the issue, while finding the relevant information needed to back up my ideas and theory for this particular topic. "Prostitution is an extreme form of gender discrimination. Legalization of this violence to women restricts women's freedom and citizenship rights. If women are allowed to become a legitimate commodity, they are consigned to a second-class citizenship. Democracy is subverted" Donna Hughes

Making the Harm Visible There is intense debate surrounding the legalization of prostitution. Full legalization involves prostitution taking the same status as any other occupation, i.e. giving sex workers access to social security and healthcare, regulating their places and terms of employment, etc. In many EU countries prostitution is de-criminalized, in other words, it is not a criminal offence to work as a prostitute. In the words of Hughes: "Considering the documented harm to women who are trafficked and prostituted, it is only logical that women should not be criminalized for being the victim of those abuses. Decriminalization also means that women will not fear arrest if they seek assistance and may be more likely to testify against pimps and traffickers." Hughes goes on to...

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...Why should prostitution be legal?
Can anybody tell me what is considered to be the world's most ancient profession? (doesn't require education, mostly involves women)
Some researchers confirm that prostitution is indeed the most ancient profession, while others argue with it; however, everybody agrees that trading sex for money has existed for quite a while. According to Wikipedia, prostitution began in the 21st century BC in Near East, most likely as a religious custom, and was practiced by Greeks, Romans, China and other ancient civilizations. Now, as we have entered into the 21st century AD, prostitution is still a part of modern society. The fact speaks for itself: as there will always be a demand for the services that it provides, prostitution will exist in some form no matter what.
The National Task Force on Prostitution suggests that over one million people in the US have at some point of their lives worked as prostitutes, with 4 years being an average length of their career. The above mentioned number equals to 1% of American women. (8)
Many nations reconsidered prostitution as something necessarily evil and against the law by legalizing it. England, France, Germany, Denmark, Canada, and Israel are some of them. However, prostitution stays illegal in the US, excluding 11 out of 17 counties of Nevada. Isn't it time to...

...In order to assuage a society that looks down on the commodification of sex, perhaps there is a happy medium between the status quo and outright legalization of prostitution. The idea to criminalize the purchase of sex rather than the sale of sex (i.e. focus on prosecuting the johns rather than the prostitutes) presents a novel, though effective, approach to tackle . As Max Waltman points out in his New York Times April 2012 Op-Ed entitled, “Criminalize Only the Buying of Sex,” this latter approach has seemingly worked in Sweden to achieve a markedly decrease in prostitution.
Emphasizing the human rights angle of not being bought and sold, the Swedish law focused on the party with the purchasing power in the transaction (i.e. the john)—in hopes to prevent him/her from even fathoming conducting business with someone who entered the “world’s oldest profession” likely because of some dire circumstance. Mr. Waltman discusses in his Op-Ed that the origins of becoming a prostitute stem from feelings and actual inequality, perhaps originating from early [childhood] sexual abuse that led to poor decisions including not pursuing higher education, which in turn ultimately transpired into homelessness and subsequent entering into the world of prostitution.
Reflected in the studies Mr. Waltman cites on the obvious psychological implications on sex workers that feel they cannot escape the industry, rather than proclaiming...

...Legal Drinking Age
In the United States, the legal drinking age for all fifty states and the District of Columbia is twenty-one. The drinking age is twenty-one because the government decided this is when a person becomes legally responsible to handle the repercussions of consuming alcohol. The U.S. has the highest legal drinking age in the world. Only four countries in the world have a legal drinking age over eighteen, making the US an exception rather than the rule. Some people may argue that the government should lower the drinking age since you legally become an adult at age eighteen, but I completely understand this law and am totally for it. Underage drinking has become an epidemic that has spread all over the world, but more so in the United States than any other country. This is disturbing because the brain is not fully developed until a person is around twenty-two years of age. Therefore, it should be harder for minors to obtain alcohol, and the legal drinking age should not be lowered.
What is alcohol, and where did it come from? Alcohol is a natural substance formed by the reaction of fermenting sugar with yeast. The production of alcohol started about 10,000 years ago. It all started around the Black and Caspian Seas with wine, and slowly made its way around the surrounding areas. Mesopotamia and Egypt were thriving with wine productions by 3,000 B.C. (Narconon). A thousand years later, a...

...academic discussion about prostitution and some terms which may offend some of us will be used. As much as possible, the audience is requested to see and view the topics being presented with an open mind.
Prostitution
It is the act or practice of engaging in sex acts for hire. ‡ It is said to be derived from a composition of two Latin words: (preposition) pro and (verb) statuere. A literal translation therefore would be: to expose , to place up front .
In most cultures, prostitution is viewed as a deviant profession, either discouraged or illegal; however, motivations vary from the implications of those potentially exposed to that activity to whether it constitutes or not an exploitative practice. ‡ Contrary to the popular notion, prostitution is NOT the world s oldest profession that would be hunting, gathering and subsistence farming .
Brief History
As early as 1900 B.C., the ancient society of Mesopotamia recognized the need to protect women's property rights which included female prostitutes. ‡ 6th Century B.C.: Solon Establishes State-Funded Brothels in Greece ‡ 590 A.D.: The newly-converted Reccared I, Visigoth King of Spain, banned prostitution as part of an effort to bring his country into alignment with Christian ideology.
1161: King Henry II regulates but does not ban prostitution ‡ 1358: Italy embraces prostitution declaring it as absolutely indispensible...

...Prostitution has been going on for many centuries. Many studies have gone on, researching and trying to understand on why women get involved with prostitution and the main effects it has on then. Some report the main causes of early prostitution was due to poverty and deviance. Many see it as a career, a way to make a living and survive and provide for their families. “Studies show that many women engage themselves in such activities as prostitution by their own choice, forced into it, or because of their own mental health state.”(Chudakov 305)
The start of prostitution started centuries. In the beginning many women were obligated to have sex with men. Along with citizens from other countries being forced onto cluttered boats to come to the United States as slaves, women were forced and used as sexual objects. Over time, women started getting paid for their sexual favors, many recent studies prove mainly that poverty drove women into prostitution. Women from all ages engaged in sexual acts, as a way to get by. Prostitution occurs all over the world, in the United States it is not something you would think about on a daily basis, other countries it occurs everywhere and is recognized. In certain countries “high unemployment has led many women, especially women from the rural sector, to enter into a life of prostitution.”(mtholyoke.edu). This...

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Prostitution in the Philippines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prostitution in the Philippines is illegal. It is a serious crime with penalties ranging up to life imprisonment for those involved intrafficking. It is covered by the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.[1] Prostitution is sometimes illegally available through brothels (also known as casa), bars, karaoke bars (also known as KTVs), massage parlors, street walkers and escort services.
As of 2009, one source estimated that there were 800,000 women working as prostitutes in the Philippines, with some of them believed to be underage.[2]
Contents [hide] * 1 Prostitution in various regions * 2 Violence and coercion against prostitutes * 3 See also * 4 External resources * 5 References |
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Prostitution in various regions [edit]
Prostitution caters to local customers and foreigners . Media attention tends to focus on those areas catering to sex tourism, primarily through bars staffed by bargirls. Cities where there is a high incidence of prostitution are Angeles City, Olongapo, Subic Bay and Pasay City[3] , with the customers usually foreign businessmen from East Asian and Western nations.[3]
Prostitution in Olongapo City and Angeles City was highly prominent during the time of the U.S. military...

...150,000 Filipina women have been trafficked into prostitution in Japan. (Press Statement, Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association, “Open sale of little girls at Tanbaza brothel,” Daily Star, 2 July 1998)
150 Filipinas were sold into prostitution to night club operators in African countries, particularly Nigeria. The women were bought for $5,000 each by international syndicates. Four Filipinas were rescued by the Philippine Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria after they sought help from officials. (Bureau of Immigration, Lira S. Dalagin, “150 Pinays sold as sex slaves in Africa,” Manila Chronicle, 31 May 1995)
In 1991, Filipinas were being sold in Japan, often to the Yakuza, at $2,400 to $18,000 each. (CATW – Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)
In 1996, 492 of 3,776 reported cases of child abuse involved pornography, prostitution, paedophilia and trafficking. There were 8,335 cases of child abuse from 1991-1996, 96% of the victims were females. (Department of Social Welfare and Development, “375,000 Filipino Women & Kids Are Into Prostitution,” PhilippineDaily Inquirer, 26 July 1997)
Philippine women are vulnerable to trafficking due to the Asian economic crisis. Requests for entertainer visas for Japan did not decline in the first six months of 1998. Travel to Japan increased 21% in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 1997. The label...